These are some of the financial programs we have used in the past. Some are free, some aren’t. It’s best to play around with them until you find the one that bests suits your needs.

Click on the name to go to their website.

Mint.com - Perennially on lists as one of the best free programs for budgeting and expense tracking. It runs as either an app or in browser, can pull in checking and credit card data, and will automatically (after some tweaking) analyze your spending.

Quicken - Is an extremely comprehensive tool. This is on par with some general ledgers businesses use. It is by far the most detailed solution available. This can be a pro or a con, as some may find it too onerous while others will be able to get extremely detailed profiles of their spending and create budgets that will greatly aid their retirement. There are several versions ranging from $30-60 per year. Check out their website for a comparison of them.

MS Money Sunset Deluxe - This replaced MS Money and is also free. However, it has limited internet functionality compared to some of the other choices here.

MoneyStream.com - MoneyStream analyzes your spending by accessing your bank account. Then shows you a future view of your money so you can see at glance where you stand and where you're going.

You Need a Budget, YNAB - At $7 a month, it won't break the bank. It syncs with your bank, is robust with lots of tools to help control expenses and budget for the future. Like Mint, this pulls in your expenses from your bank for analysis and budgeting tracking. You can keep tabs on how you’re tracking towards your monthly budget and take action if you’re overspending. It also helps with financial literacy.

Buddi - Is a personal finance and budgeting program, aimed at those who have little or no financial background. It is open sourced, meaning it is easily modifiable for those that are tech savvy and its free for those that aren't. Features include budgeting, tracking accounts, personal finance reports, but you will have to enter transactions manually (no transaction downloads).

Tiller - Tiller connects your financial accounts to spreadsheets and automatically updates them with your daily transactions and balances. This works for both Excel and Google Sheets. This allows you to track spending, make a budget, run reports, etc. It costs about $5 per month.

AceMoney Lite - This is free software download. You can manage your budgets, track multi-currency finances, analyze your spending habits, track investments, make transfers between accounts, and do on-line banking. They bill themselves as a free alternative to MS Money and Quicken.

GnuCash - Similar to Mint, it can track bank transactions, expenses, and investments, but takes a more accounting-oriented approach. It is also free.